New Civil Society Platform announced at EESC Civil Society Week
During the EESC Civil Society Week, the European Commission, Fundamental Rights Agency, Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and civil society actors announced their collaboration to set up a Civil Society Platform by the end of 2026. The new platform responds to a long-standing call from civil society partners and Philea for a more structured framework for dialogue.
The platform is intended to provide a regular mechanism for engagement with organisations working to promote EU values. For civil society and philanthropy, it represents an important step to more structured engagement with the institutions, answering a growing need in many countries across Europe.
Philea welcomes the announcement but considers it essential that the platform is as inclusive as possible. This means including the perspective of a variety of civil society and philanthropic organisations, both at EU and national level, along with the perspectives of EU candidate countries. With mistrust in the EU and national institutions being a reality in many countries, the need to bridge national and European level is as strong as ever.
Philea also considers it crucial that the Civil Society Strategy’s third objective on access to sustainable and transparent funding is properly implemented. As part of this, the European Commission is planning measures to facilitate access to different funding sources and creating stronger links and better dialogue with private donors.
For philanthropy to reach its full potential, stronger public–philanthropic donor dialogue and an enabling framework that supports foundations and cross-border giving are needed, as highlighted in the European Philanthropy Manifesto. Policymakers should continue the dialogue and pursue regulatory changes to achieve a Single Market for Philanthropy, enabling foundations and donors to operate across borders without discrimination.
Alongside its members, Philea co-organised several sessions during EESC Civil Society Week, on policy initiatives and practices to ensure an enabling environment for democratic resilience and the role of private donors in complementing EU funding.
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